Agenda item

Councillor R Denham (Portfolio Holder for Economy and Culture) Councillor R Sutton (Portfolio Holder for City Development) and Councillor R Hannaford (Portfolio Holder for Place) to present half yearly updates for 2016/17.

Councillors Sutton, Denham and Hannaford presented the following progress reports on priorities within the Economy, City Development and Place:-

Economy

The Portfolio Holder for Economy provided the following updates:-

• Exeter City Futures work had progressed. The 10 ‘Challenges’ identified and the results of the voting could be viewed through the Crowdicity platform which was launched on 7 December 2016, as well as through social media.
• the Growth and Productivity Strategy for the four Local Authorities had been finalised and an updated version on this was included on the agenda.
• the Exeter Venue Advisory Group included representatives from Exeter College, the University of Exeter, and the Cathedral.  The consultant’s Brief included looking at ways to address the look and feel of the South Street area and wider cultural quarter and identify what future investment opportunities there might be. A drop in session, would be held at the Corn Exchange on 25 January 2017 and would be open between the hours of 8.00am and 8.00pm.

In response to a Member’s question, the Portfolio Holder for Economy confirmed that a press release with more detail had been issued this week.

City Development

The Portfolio Holder for City Development reported the following updates:-

• a Member Steering Group had been established to contribute towards the discussion on the lack of five year housing supply in Exeter.  The development of a Greater Exeter Strategic Plan should also provide a better opportunity for the four neighbouring authorities to more cohesively address such issues rather than work on an individual basis. A Briefing would be arranged for Members to ensure they were kept informed and had the opportunity to contribute.
• as part of the governance arrangements for the Community Infrastructure Levy, the Exeter Community Forum ‘Grass Roots’ Grants Programme was due to meet that evening to discuss a number of grant applications.
• a recruitment exercise was being undertaken to fill a number of vacant posts in Planning to ensure that Government targets for the determination time  of planning applications would be met.

In response to Members’ questions, the Portfolio Holder for City Development responded as follows:-

• the ratio of residential and affordable housing had been established and student accommodation could not be counted towards the Five Year Housing Supply. She referred to the work that had been taking place with Exeter’s neighbouring District Councils to identify a joint approach towards housing and employment across the greater Exeter and travel to work area.
• there was the potential to take a wider view of the resources and  contributions from funding such as the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) as well as other strategic funding for transport infrastructure to support Exeter and its near neighbours. 

Place

The Portfolio Holder for Place reported the following updates:

• the Community Safety Partnership had introduced more collaborative ways of working to assist the Police.
• smarter ways of working with the use of new technology should help to identify those areas with lower rates of recycling.

In response to Members’ questions, the Portfolio Holder for Place and Assistant Director Environment responded as follows:-

• the acronyms detailed in the report were as follows Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Alcohol Violence and the Night Time Economy (AVENTE), the Street Attachment Group (StAG), and the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Team (ASBAT).The full titles would be included in future reports.
• targeted education and information initiatives were already taking place to address issues relating to the relatively low level of recycling in some communities and localities in the City. The Council’s Recycling Team worked closely with Exeter University and the Student Guild in recognition that many students would be coming from different parts of the UK and beyond, where recycling arrangements may be very different.

A Member referred to his membership of the Devon Strategic Waste Group and confirmed that the largest part of the waste found in Exeter’s black bins was food waste (36%). As Exeter does not currently recycle waste food, unlike neighbouring Districts, it was unfair to compare Exeter’s recycling rates. It should be noted the Council’s Material Reclamation Facility (MRF) at Exton Road, was a good facility, and also handled recyclates from Mid Devon District Council.